Chronic 911 callers to get aid from 'community paramedics'

Dennis Oda / doda@staradvertiser.com

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The Honolulu Emergency Services Department's new community paramedics program was created to stem 911 calls by the system's top 50 chronic users, whose ambulance calls, when hospitalization is factored in, could cost as much as $7 million this year. Chris Luan, a paramedic and dispatcher who already is on a first-name basis with the system's most frequent users, said she is excited about the program. "This way we will be able to spend more time with the patients. That's what I like about it."